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5 Adventurous New Zealand snow activities you’ve probably never heard of before

Published March 12th, 2018

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Snow, skiing, snowboarding and schnapps. That’s your NZ winter getaway sorted, right? Not quite. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some ideas for what you can do on your next snow holiday in New Zealand when you think you’ve done it all.

Ride the world’s biggest swing

Forget bungy jumping. The world’s biggest swing is just a 40-minute drive from Queenstown. The Nevis Swing is the perfect way to get your adrenaline fix and, if you’re feeling a bit nervous at the prospect of swinging a 300 metre arc, 160 metres off the canyon floor, the good news is that you can go with a friend. Just don’t go to Fergburger first.

Land on a glacier

Jump in that helicopter and hit the skies over the jaw-droppingly beautiful Southern Alps, turquoise Lake Wakatipu before landing on the snow capped peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park. Step out of your helicopter, right onto a glacier. Cue selfie.

Get married

Wait – what? Yep. Fancy yourselves the ker-azy, spur-of-the-moment kinda couple? Of course you are! You’ve come to New Zealand for a holiday and you’re so in love that you just want to get hitched right now! Good news. You can. It’s called an Alpine Elopement Heli-Wedding and you can arrange one of these in beautiful Queenstown. The whole package includes Heli-flight, celebrant, ceremony and celebratory bubbles, as well as a story to last you a very long time.

Watch out for a whale at Kaikoura

Head down to the seaside town of Kaikoura and you’ll have a pretty good chance of spotting a whale. Sperm whales feed off the coastline all year round, and during the cooler months of June – August, humpback whales stop in at Kaikoura on their way north to warmer waters.

Hit the backcountry on a snowmobile

Need a change from all that skiing and boarding? Try something totally different and take a wild adventure into New Zealand’s pristine backcountry with a wilderness snowmobiling experience. You can jump on a tour and explore the trails and backcountry riding as well as set yourself up with some awesome snow stories. Solo travellers, couples and small groups all get a welcome.

Based in Brisbane, Erin is a writer with a penchant for using fancy old French words wherever possible and an insatiable hankering for trawling through vintage markets in small Scandinavian towns (no really). One of her dreams is to take her family to see General Sherman in Sequoia National Park and give that guy a really big group-hug. Don’t follow her, she could end up anywhere. Twitter @erinbennion.